Introduction

Hello! I just registered for your site. I am a veterinarian interested in fine tuning my treatment of diabetic kitties. I was referred to your amazing site by Dr. Lisa Pierson. I'm going to be spending some time reading many of the stickied posts about lantus and home testing. I am off work for a couple weeks recovering from shoulder surgery, and now that I am off pain meds I thought I would spend some of that time brushing up on diabetes!

I'm a big believer in feeding low carb canned foods to cats. I've seen cats with chronic diarrhea for months cured by changing to low carb food.

I start all my diabetic kitties on lantus now, and have been pleased with the results. I have not been pushing home monitoring yet, and I am hoping that my studies here will make me more comfortable with making that recommendation. Many people are so freaked out just being told they have to give BID injections, that I have a fear of sending them screaming into the night if I tell them they also need to home test. So I have some questions:

Did you decide to home test on your own, or did your vet recommend it?
How hard was it for you to learn how to get the blood sample?
How did your cat tolerate your new bizarre behavior? ;-)
How do you manage multiple daily home testing with working a full time job?

I've never actually owned a cat with diabetes. One of my cats is very sensitive. If he even thinks I'm going to do something to him he just disappears into the basement. I don't know how I would manage to test and inject him regularly.

I did have one patient who home monitored. This cat would go ballistic every time he came is. It was stressful for all concerned and impossible to get accurate readings due to stress hyperglycemia. He was managed very well at home until he died of something unrelated.


I've seen examples of the wonderful spreadsheet you are using to record blood sugars. Is there somewhere on the site to download a template? Also instructions on how to use it? It may take me a while to find a way around this huge site. I would appreciate any recommendations and orientation information to get the most out of my study.

 

I found one place that is supposed to have a link to the spreadsheet for USA users, but when I click it, Google Docs says the file does not exist.

 

first, the easy question

the spreadsheet. here's a link to how to do it from the Tech forum
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=18207

now to the diabetes.

i will just explain our story and i think it should answer your questions regarding one cat. a big motto here is that each cat is different so you'll likely get lots of our stories.

My Mousie was a street cat I rescued with a hurt leg and while she lived in my house for awhile, she didn't think us humans were worthy of her. Then the day came when she did. Odd we thought. She started peeing where she shouldn't, losing weight, and very friendly with the man of the house who would toss food to her anytime she meowed all of a sudden. To the vet we went. She was diagnosed and while I had been on the internet and read about testing, etc... but when I asked the vet about it he said not to worry about that yet. 3 weeks go by and something is wrong. called the vet, nonchalant attitude about her inappetance & vomiting lead me to get on the internet wherein i discovered this site and was given a vet recommendation.

2nd vet diagnosed a UTI and switched our insulin and insisted on low carb wet food and hometesting. been doing it ever since.

to me testing was no biggie. the idea of it wasn't at least. yes, getting it done was a biggie since my cat didn't like us humans and it was a struggle for the first month or two but there was no way i was not going to do it as to me, her life depended on it is how i saw it. we got our exercise chasing her around to get that test but in no time at all she started coming willingly to her testing spot. that answers most of the questions i think.

as far as how do i handle the testing because of work? i'm self employed so i do what i can. typically i test in the morning and test at night before her shots, during the week, and more occasionally on the weekends or if something is off, like last night, then i test more (BG of 36 at three and three quarter hours after her shot soooooooo, i had to intervene, which required more testing). we've been at this nearly 5 years now so to be honest, usual testing is only twice a day, even on the weekends. when we first started, yes, i did curves and spot tests alot more but i think in time, as you learn your cat and their responses, you don't have to do as much.

how's that?

 

oops. it should be there but there have been some problems with google this week. let me see if i can get hold of Cynthia or Sue as I think they're the resident spreadsheet geniuses. there's probably more but i can say for certain that i'm not one of them.

 

There are some issues with Google, I think. Here is a thread that gives you several ideas on how to access the spreadsheet: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=45918

 

I should start my reply by saying I am in Toronto Canada and have two cats with acromegaly and one is also IAA positive. I did not even know that cats could be diabetic, so that should sum up how much I knew when my vet told my Shadoe had diabetes. I was stunned and thought 'she has what?'

I searched online and found this site. My vet had me give Caninsulin, but with no improvement and suggestions from this site, I went to my vet and said I want to give Lantus instead. My vet knew nothing about it, gave me a script for it, and I found that I could get any insulin with no script in Canada. And that should tell you how current my vet is with diabetes.

Home testing - I had no problem and just followed the instructions and videos found online and tips provided by others on this board. Shadoe had no problem having her ear tip poked, and Oliver sleeps through most pokes.

I found that Shadoe has very thin ears and pokes with milking earn decent blood drops on the outer side of the ear.
Oliver has very thick fleshy ears and pokes yield better drops from the inner side of the ear.
I do not aim for any vein.

Shadoe seems to have an internal clock and simply shows up for testing quite regularly.

When I was working, shots were set for 2hrs before I needed to leave for work, so that I could delay the am shot as needed. Shots were 5am/5pm. Tests on work days were am shot time, pm shot time, and maybe 2 tests before bed.
On weekends, testing was done every 2hrs or every 3hrs for curves.

I needed to force my vet to test Shadoe for acromegaly. They had no info on the condition, so I had to provide everything including the place to send the sample for testing. She 'did not look acro' so they said I was wasting my money. They were shocked when the test was positive.

I adopted Oliver through DCIN and this board. The owners surrendered him to be PTS because he had diabetes.
Within a month or so, I was pretty sure I had another cat with acromegaly. He arrived 3/22/10 and we had him tested 5/9/10 - the results were positive for acromegaly and also IAA. I had no problems this time having him tested at my vet office; they had all the info and Oliver 'looked acro'.

Shadoe's dose today is 14.5u Levemir and Oliver's dose is 26.5u Levemir.
Levemir is the preferred insulin for acros; Shadoe is visibly tense on Lantus but is much more calm on Levemir.

If you have any questions regarding my handling of Shadoe and Oliver with acro, or you wish to see their spreadsheets, just let me know.

 

Welcome!!

How refreshing that you are reviewing the site!

There is so much to be gained here from every day dedicated diabetic cat owners!

Glad you are here--

 

My vet told me I needed to hometest. The first reason she gave me was money--she knew I didn't make a lot and was afraid I wouldn't treat the diabetes if I didn't home test. The second reason she gave me was that stress affected blood glucose numbers in the office, so testing from home would be more accurate. I heard "cheaper" and "more accurate" and I was sold.

My vet had a resident cat in the office, and she demonstrated how to home test and give an injection. Her cat was used to it, of course, so getting blood from Bandit was a different story. I was in tears that first week trying to get tests, but after a week I was comfortable, and after two weeks I felt like a pro. My vet gave me some good hometesting tips though--she suggested I get a basket to put bandit in during the test, and get a blanket in case he tries to scratch and struggle. He did both, of course, but once he figured out he was getting treats he didn't mind testing at all. He started running to his basket for the test when he heard the meter beep on. I learned about neosporin + pain relief here, and that helped so much.

I work a full time job, a part time job, and I go to grad school. I got a test in before his morning injection, then I went to work all day. Being gone all day meant I made sure Bandit had food when his insulin peaked...i sent an autofeeder with frozen wet food. I tested before his pm injection when I got home, and I got a test 4 and six hours after his pm shot. This often meant I had to set an alarm, wake up, test, and go back to bed, but that inconvenience was minor to me. I got a curve once a week on the weekend. He's in remission now, so it paid off in the end.

 

Google docs was having a temper tantrum yesterday.

Try using this template.

Welcome to FDMB! I am so excited to have a vet show interest in what is done here!!! I'm going to go respond to your survey (ha ha).

 

For years I had Miss Maisey tested for diabetes, she never ate much, but always drank tons of water. When she started hugging the water dishes and lost weight I knew it had happened. I've had Maisey & her litter mate Vinney for all but 3 weeks of their 12 years. The Vet tech introduced me to testing (actually only mentioned it and tried to sell me pet meter without even knowing the price - $240 there) and shooting - completely wrong, wrong needle size, wrong location - ruff. I found this site and felt immediately at home. I crave information. Testing was rough on me - the stress activated my MS - but I was bound to succeed for Miss Maisey. We took a couple of days respite and then things improved and got quite easy. Maisey was on PZI and after our rough start - way too high, she needed very little - switched to wet food low carb and one month later no more need for insulin.
I work full time and tested before work, fed kitties left out frozen cat food pops (make in silicone cup cake pans) for during the day. Got home tested at night, fed and did another feeding just before bed. If didn't take long to know things were far better. She would still jump up into the bathroom sink, but instead of crying for water, she'd look at me with a "why did I get up here" look on her face.

 

Thank you for taking the time to get to know our site and ask questions, I'm a case manager with DCIN - Diabetic Cats In Need, a group that was formed by one woman on this site and is still young, but growing quickly, I hope. I'm also mom to a few diabetic cats, only one who is currently on insulin.

Regarding your questions:
"Did you decide to home test on your own, or did your vet recommend it?"
I asked my vet if I could, she didn't have anyone doing but said I could, she could not help with picking out a monitor so I went to the pharmacy. Unfortunately I started off with one that needed a huge drop of blood. Very bad mistake.


"How hard was it for you to learn how to get the blood sample?"
Because I chose a hard meter to use, getting a blood sample was hard. So hard I used to cry each time. But I was using an 18 guage needle that my vet gave me. I had never heard of a lancet and had no idea how to use it.


"How did your cat tolerate your new bizarre behavior?"
Tucker was a saint. He was also very sick when I adopted him so we were in and out of ER and vet clinics all the time. Oddly, we bonded super fast and I think more intensely because of the hometesting. We both learned together that hometesting quickly helped him feel better. Thankfully I did some searches on line and found a site for feline neuropathy, the site owner helped me learn to hometest and then she sent me here.


"How do you manage multiple daily home testing with working a full time job?"
Hometesting takes me three minutes start to finish. That's getting ready, testing, getting the shot together, giving the shot and then giving a treat. We have a routine, each cat knows where they are tested, each cat goes to their spot. Then all cats diabetics and civvies (civilian non-diabetic - just a cute term FDMB came up with), all my cats get treats at test time.


I'm not a vet, I'm in no way an expert, but I have adopted several diabetic cats that others did not want, this is simply my opinion.

If you plan to have folks hometest, I would ease them into it. Many times, as you know, when someone is told there cat has diabetes, it feels like the floor was just pulled out from under them. When they get home they have pressure from family and friends, some might say it's just a cat, put it down, others might say just feed it and when it's time to put the cat down, do it. Others surrender their cats to shelters or to the vet instead of PTS.

For the ones that do want to do whatever they can, their pet is part of the family, for them, I might start with the basics, here's how to shoot the insulin, practice on an orange or something. If they are not in freak out mode, tell them they can test their cats blood sugar, just like a mom would test her child's blood sugar. After a few days, sometimes weeks, you and the cat get used it, and it can be a special time, the time of day that the kitty gets a really awesome treat and they really do start to tell you when it's testing time.

But to be honest, if you have your clients start their cats off on healthy diets to begin with, you may see fewer and fewer diabetic cats in your future

Please post any other questions that you have.

 

Wow...and Welcome to the FDMBs!

I have owned several diabetic cats. My first was Tilei and the vet office called her Mrs. "T." They actually wore long leather gloves in order to handle her! So, when she was first diagnosed the vet didn't think I would be able to handle her at home.

Well, we tried, and to my surprise and the vet's...she was a cinch at home. Shots, ear pokes and all. We would email the vet the spreadsheets back and forth. She was a PZI girl at the time.

Last year you can read the story of Atlas in my tagline. He was a bit of a struggle at first when we finally got around to home testing. A kitty burrito towel to keep his big ole paws at bay, a poke, and an awesome treat...after a few days we were well on our way. He started on Humilin N and we were able to eventually switch him over to Lantus with a donation of insulin from Diabetic Cats in Need.

If you have not found it yet...check out the Lantus Support Group. There you will find the actual protocol we use for our Lantus kitties and you will find a ton of experience.

I recently changed vets and while they were not familiar with what I was doing with Lantus and dosing etc. They were impressed when presented with the protocol, spreadsheets, and commitment to the health and well being of my now precious Atlas. That is him today in my Avatar. 4lbs of skin and bones a year ago....to a happy, healthy 16lbs. today. And he is a big cat. His paw is as big as the palm of my hand and he is over 42 inches nose to tail. The little girls that visit call him the lion!

 

I started researching the minute she was diagnosed and decided I couldn't stand not to hometest. I was much too worried about hypoglycemia. I have a friend whose 15 month old daughter was diagnosed and I took a lot of my ideas off of that. For instance, human doctors, while guiding, told the parents, YOU live with her and know her and her reactions better than we do. YOU will be in the pilot seat making dosing decisions with the information you have. My vet is quite of the same opinion about other illnesses. While she did not suggest monitoring, I brought it up and she said "it would be worth it's weight in gold if you suspect a hypo". So she didn't suggest or push, but was ok with me pursuing it. A younger vet came in who had ferrets (prone to hypo I guess, all on their own) and she uses a human glucometer on them, so had no trouble. In the beginning, I gave them my numbers and we made decsions about dosing together. Then as I got on firmer ground, I just did it on my own. In the beginning they suggested the two unit BID but I was uncomfortable with it, so they were ok with starting at 1 BID. They work WITH me. It made it much better.

Pearl is not good at the vet but she is perfectly fine with me poking and prodding. SHe also took flovent (though we seem to have gotten past asthma attacks with finally finding the right litter). It took me about a week to get blood. I wasn't warming the ear enough. Then after 3 weeks, I didn't need to warm the ear anymore. I tested more frequently than I do now. Mostly I just do pre-shot tests to make sure she isn't doing anything unusual. For a LONG time I did at least a mid cycle test. I started coming home for lunch since I am close enough to do that. I still do that. I test when she exhibits any unusual behaviour to see if it is related to BGs.

We started on Lantus, which seemed to not work so well after a year. Switched to Idexx PZI. Wow expensive! But worked well and lasted. NOw we are on Levemir and I LOVE it. To me it works way better than lantus. Gentler for the most part, effective, cost effective if you buy the pen cartridges, never poops out, even though I leave the pen we are using out to be at room temp. My vet has had trouble with hypos a lot with lantus and people who don't test. I suspect a lot were micro dosers. One thing I don't see vets talk about is increasing in much smaller doses. I will freely admit I tend to not be as agressive as some FD parents. I think that you do have to be a little willing to push a little and feed lower numbers *if* you are able to be around a lot. It takes real nerves though.

I have been treating Pearl for 5 years now. It's amazing it's been so long!

 

When Tony was diagnosed I asked about hometesting. She aid 'let's get the insulin shots underway and talk next week'. I noted the metre that she was using, stopped at the pharmacy on the way home and got one, along with strips and lancets. The vet freehand poked, so I didn't know any different. I lurked around this site and read everything and watched videos to learn. He wasn't thrilled with the process, but being a treat hound, it wasn't hard to win him over. Now I rarely even give treats, and just test him where ever he happens to be lying. When I went back the next week for a demo on their long-suffering office cat I presented her with my numbers from the past week.

I asked why she didn't want hometesting right away. She said that she has had too many people glaze over and just say pts. She found that starting on 1 u Lantus usually results in visible improvements, is fairly low risk, and the owner is encouraged, and then she can introduce testing.

 

Hi, I'm a month-old newbie and still coming to terms with all this @-)

I made the decision to start hometesting myself. The first thing I thought of when I got the bombshell about Cheekyface was "OMG what if she hypos when I'm at work??" I'm an ex-nurse with three diabetic family members, pee tests as proposed for monitoring didn't sound very useful for catching hypos!

She was diagnosed about 6 weeks after surgery for a retrobulbar abcess; her symptoms crept up on me and by the time the alarm bells really started clanging, she was in early ketoacidosis. I'll never forgive myself for not catching it earlier. My vet kept her on IV fluids overnight Friday to flush her systems, gave Convenia antibiotic (she's never had a problem with it) to clear concurrent infections and started her on 2u Lantus BiD. I actually found and signed up to this site before I brought her home on Saturday and suggested to my vet then that I'd like to do hometesting. I got a neutral response, sort of 'give it a few days and see how you go, usually we do it with urine tests'. Hmm.

Monday she stayed at the vet for a glucose curve so I didn't have to worry about her. Tuesday, when I had to go back to work and leave her for the day, was hell. I decided the ONLY way to stay sane and be able to function was to home test, so before the weekend I'd bought my supplies, watched all the videos etc. and psyched myself up with support and encouragement from members of the forum. It took the rest of the week and one very badly-bitten finger before I got the hang of it; and at 7pm that next Saturday evening I found myself with a low number and calling for help from the Lantus Support Board. They nursemaided me through the long night and 2-hourly tests until the next shot. She was never in any real danger but I still get chills thinking of what could have happened if I'd just given the 2u and gone to bed... the vet dropped her dose to 1u BD on the Monday after she threw another low number before breakfast (I sent her the spreadsheet and explained what had happened) then after 10 days of still-high BGs I noticed Cheeky's drinking had increased so she's now been on 1.5 for 14 days and we'll have a review next week.

I've struggled a bit with finding a level of monitoring that keeps her safe, doesn't stress her overmuch by having her ear constantly poked, keeps ME calm, and doesn't piss off my vet with constant inquiries about dosing. I'll say right now that we're not following the Rand protocol, mainly because of my situation and work schedule; I live alone, work full time 30-40 minutes away from home and simply cannot maintain the level of testing it requires. The fact she was in DKA on diagnosis makes remission a hope rather than an aim, and I just want her to be safe, well and happy in herself for as long as she's with me.

After a minor "breakdown" and reality check a fortnight ago, when I asked for that dose increase because of the increased drinking, I've settled into a routine of testing pre-shot AM, PM and +4 (bedtime). Weekends I do nadirs both during the day and at night, and right now have three days of nice mini-curve data for our review next week with a proper 2hr-curve planned for Sunday. Interpretation is something I'll leave to my vet.

So at the moment, Cheeky is still regulating. As far as her coping with my new bizarre behaviour is concerned :lol: she's still not keen on the ear pricks but knows it's done with quickly and then she gets food. It was the change to feeding regimes that caused the most upset to all of us, especially my old CRF boy Bodie, who can't eat the same food as her, but I think we've got it sorted now. It's only been a month but I feel like I've been juggling two cats, housework and my job forever...finding and settling into a mealtime/shot routine that works for all of us has made things easier.

I think it's fantastic that you, as a vet, have come here to learn whatever you can to increase your skills in FD. I wish you all the very best--and are you moving to Australia any time soon?? :mrgreen:

 

Mumble grumble. The site "ate" my previous post b/c others posted while I was being long-winded.

HALLELUJAH, hallelujah, ha-lay-lu-jah!

seriously. Welcome. I'm happy to hear there are vets who are interested in what goes on here at FDMB.

yes, I suppose. I just know I was scared to death to shoot and run off.

my idea. He'd heard of it, though his intern had not. He loved my data and my spreadsheet. Showed it off to the whole office. He let me figure out dosing (I think he would've helped if I had asked, but he's very busy) and only raised an eyebrow when he saw I used some R. (DISCLAIMER: I used R with some professional guidance and my cat was ketone prone. I am NOT advising the use of R w/o professional help!!)

I won't lie. It was frustrating. But, after learning about the sweet spot, milking, and warming the ear, it got much easier. I started with a One Touch Ultra and did ok. When I switched to the Accucheck Aviva, I thought I'd gone to heaven it was so much easier! Maybe one test out of every 100 or so got an error, vs the OTU (once every 20?).

I was lucky. Cosmo was food driven. He'd do anything for some bonito flakes. The first two weeks were not a picnic, but he was very tolerant after needing to be tube fed and sponge bathed on his bottom every day when he came home from his 8 night stay in the ER for DKA, HL, and CP.

Cosmo was diagnosed during my second year of my doctoral program. I was taking 4 classes, working 30 hours a week, teaching 10 hours a week, and working for a professor for 10 hours a week. I talked with my supervisors and made it work.

Seriously. We've had many people with many kinds of schedules in Lantus Land. I'd say that in 99.5% of cases, they've figured out how to get a good amt of tests to keep the kitty at a good dose of lantus.

I posted above the new link. Hope it helps.

welcome to FDMB! I hope for a speedy recovery for you!

 

Welcome!

glad to have you, and like Cindy said, you will find an abundance of stories.

Did you decide to home test on your own, or did your vet recommend it?
- my vet strongly recommended. her techs taught me how to home test and how to inject. they also requested frequent curve results and check out my spreadsheet. while they probably think i test a little often and their range of comfortable numbers is higher than mine (in part to meter variance- they use alpha track, i use a freestyle lite)- it has made a huge difference in our care. i am able to just email results, they are familiar and work with the lantus tight protocol, and they are able to make more educated decisions based on the data i have available to them. it makes care a cooperative effort and a relationship between my vet and i.

How hard was it for you to learn how to get the blood sample?
-it was so easy at the vets office. and then i got home and had to bribe the cat out from under the chair/bed/table/bar etc... it's not easy at first, you get nervous, the cat gets nervous, the cat fusses, you fuss, hopefully only one of you bleeds, hopefully it's the cat ;-) but it does get better- a lot better, and faster than you would expect. looking at photos of where the veins are, the direction of blood flow, getting advice and watching videos or photos up close of people getting down and dirty with kitty testing made it easier. everything was always positively reinforced with treats, praise, and love, even when it was an epic failure. now it takes more work to get a bg reading from my finger than his ear. it's just time and practice.

How did your cat tolerate your new bizarre behavior? ;-)
- you mean the hours spent posting on fdmb? :smile: anything new came with positive reinforcement- tons of it. treats, love, praise, as far as he was concerned- feline diabetes was the best thing ever! he got so many more treats, and they were really cool tasty treats that he never had before! let's face it- he didn't care what his numbers were, he still doesn't, only i do. all he knew is that he was going to get a ton of treats, and a ton of praise- he's got a pretty sweet life all said.

How do you manage multiple daily home testing with working a full time job?
-i lucked out with a bf who works from home and could grab a mid day test. household participation always helps. but that couldn't always happen. curves happen on weekends when i was home the most, and the truth is that there is always time for testing. i scheduled his shots in such a way that i could grab at least one test if not two in the morning before i left, and then grab at least four in the evening when i got home. one test when running out the door in the morning, a few tests in the evening, all those tests adding up to give me really critical data, and did not require always having someone home midday.


one thing i can add about fd- i learned more about my cat because of fd than i ever would have otherwise.

again, welcome and also, thank you.

 

Hello and welcome.

It’s GREAT seeing a vet here! You definitely came to the right place to learn about diabetic kitties.

My vet TOLD me to home test. He made it sound like there wasn’t an option. However he put Pepper on Purina DM. So he only got it half right. He’s very young so I think he just hasn’t had much experience with it yet.

It wasn’t at all hard to learn to test. My vet had my 12 yr old grandson do a saline shot and the 15 yr old one do a poke before I took Pepper home. They are my backup when I can’t test or shoot. If children can do it, anyone can! The 12 yr old is super eager to do it all. Vet in training??? :lol:

Of course the first time is the worse and it can be terrifying if you have to do it all alone. If you can have your patients do at least one each before they leave your office it would be VERY helpful for them. Your being there with them would make a HUGE difference in their confidence to do them.

My cat is SO laid back it’s almost impossible to believe. At first he would come to our test spot when I called him. Now he comes, but stops at the doorway and makes me come get him. At least he doesn’t run away. I set my alarm for shot times and when it goes off he goes to the doorway and begins meowing. It’s like he’s saying “Come on and get the poke over with so I can eat”. He’s just plain awesome about all this! I also brush him with a de-shedding brush I have and he won’t leave our test spot willingly until I give him a good brushing. He acts like it feels SO good. Cuddling and praising him after a poke or shot is really important to him.

It would be a different story if he wasn’t so cooperative. However the people here have many ways of “handling” a non-cooperative kitty. The one I like is a “kitty burrito”. Wrap your kitty in a towel/blanket and he can’t scratch you. Another is to gently pin them between you and the couch arm. They think they can’t get away so they just lay there.

I am retired so I have no problem with testing and shot times. Mine are 4am/4pm. The main thing is setting a shot time to work around YOUR usual schedule. Many people freeze cat food in ice cube trays (that’s about 1 1/4oz of food if heaping) and put 1 out just before they leave for work. Since most cats won’t eat it until its room temperature, it’s like feeding them 1-2 hours later. Others use automatic food feeders with frozen food.

The stress hyperglycemia you mentioned is what we call “vet stress”. (sorry) It is probably the best reason to have people home test and do curves since their numbers would be true whereas they would be elevated when you do them in office.

If you spend any amount of time here you will learn a LOT about how to handle diabetic kitties. The posts you really want to read are the ones with the 911 and ? icons beside them. Those are the ones you will really learn from.

 

I adopted my kitty, Smokey, at age 14 from the Humane Society. They had had
him on a diet because he was 19 pounds. Unfortunately they were too aggresive in
reducing his calories, and he developed Triad syndrome.

When I took him home, he was not eating. He spend 4 days in the hospital, and he was
sent home with prednisolone and a bunch of other stuff. He had dropped to 12 pounds rather
quickly.

We tried to wean him off or to a lower dose of pred, but the IBD symptoms would return.

A few months after starting the pred, I noticed the PU/PD, and he was diagnosed with
steroid-induced diabetes.

We were given PZI Vet (now discontinued), a written hand-out which mentioned this site,
and told 'Some owners learn to test at home'. Vet did not push the idea, just planted the idea-seed.

After about a month, I took Smokey back to the vet for his first curve, and asked to be
shown how to test (after reading here). They used a 25ga monoject to poke and an AccuCheck Advantage meter.

They sent me home with a box of needles, and I purchased the same meter at the pharmacy.

I found using the 25ga needles to be quite difficult. I struggled for a couple of weeks with that,
then switched to the SoftClix lancet device that came with the meter. It took a while to get
it all figured out. I could not consistently get blood with the SoftClix (although I prefer it, because
you can re-cock it one-handed). I switched to a Reli-On lancet pen with THIN (not Ultra-thin) lancets.
That one seemed to poke just a little bit deeper and I started getting blood every time. Maximum depth
setting.

I also used the warm rice-sock to pre-warm Smokey's ear. And to massage all around his neck, shoulders
and head....Smokey loved his warm rice-sock massage ! I now make about a hundred rice-socks a year
for 'lori and tom' to give away in the Newbie Kits she sends out.

Smokey was the most laid-back and cooperative cat I have ever met. Big Maine Coon who eventually
stabilized at 15.5 pounds. He was very cooperative, and good thing because I eventually had to
give him daily fluids for CRF, 2x/day insulin (about 1.5u PZI Vet). He had a feeding tube for the
last few months of his life (he died of cancer at age 17-1/2).

Being retired, scheduling was not a problem for me. Smokey had small meals every 4 hours around
the clock for his IBD, so there were many times I just didn't go somewhere unless I could take him with me.
And we did go lots of places. He was a good traveler. After his hospital stay, we were never apart
for more than a few hours. I miss him every day and always will.

Perhaps you need a diabetic cat of your own to learn on ? DCIN has cats available for adoption !
(Just had to make that plug ).

Here:

http://fdmb-cin.blogspot.com/

Welcome. We can always use vet eyes here. We have lots of cats with multiple health
issues. It can be quite a juggling act for those cats.

 

Like so many others have said before me....THANK YOU FOR WANTING TO LEARN FROM US!!!!!

And yes you are going to get a done of stories here.

From me at least I'm going to give you tales of two kitties, with very different ending.

The first my 16 year old Himalayan Katrina survivor Muse (hence the screen name). It took a long battle with my former vet to even get him to test her for diabetes, I had the sinking feeling I already knew what was wrong with her, as I have numerous diabetic humans in my family and saw many of the same symptoms in Muse. Finally after a minor melt down at the vet's office, he agreed to test her, when it came back positive for diabetes the response I got was "She is an old cat, might as well just have her put down" WTF? Here is a cat that had survived two hurricanes, without claws (she was declawed on all four feet). No! I wasn't about to kill her now just because her blood sugar was high, so I packed her up and started vet shopping. I live in a very small town so not a lot of options to find a vet. Finally I did find one that was willing to help me try to save her, but the readily admitted they didn't know a lot about FD cats. They started her on a harsh insulin, Humilin N, and on too high of a dose 2u b.i.d. Said nothing to me about home testing or nor did they give me anything on what to look for in regards of hypo. So knowing how diabetes works in humans I started researching online and land here. Unfortunately for Muse and myself, it was over Memorial day weekend, and in this tiny town they roll up the sidewalks over holidays and weekends. So I was stuck shooting blind for 4 days. By the time I had a chance to get a meter and start testing her, I had a new grave in my backyard. She had gone into hypo overnight and passed away. I have been haunted by her death ever since, as I felt I had failed her so badly.

But since at the time I had 9 other cats, all of which came to me with 'baggage' I stayed on this site determined to not let this disease sneak up on me again. Well fast forward 4 months later. I recieve an email for one of the women on this board, Venita who runs Diabetic Cats In Need or DCIN for short. She had known that Muse was a Katrina rescue, and she had another Katrina cat that had less than 24 hours left to live as savior was going into a nursing home and the family didn't want the burden of treating a diabetic cat...could I at least foster him until a home could be found. There was a flurry of hurried emails and we set up someone to pull him off death row, foster him and start him on Lantus and get his transport to Nebraska set up. October 15, 2010 Maxwell came home to me, that very night I whipped out the meter and tested, expecting him to be high, afterall he had been on Lantus only a week, and had only had his diet changed to low carb for that length of time. Then give no insulin so he could fly out here the day before, but since he couldn't be shipped with his insulin, I had none to give him until the following day. I was shocked not only wasn't he high, he was in nearly normal range. The next morning when his insulin arrived in the mail, I tested again, he was a little high and got his first shot by me, that evening he was lower, nearly normal again, reduced hisdose to .5u, and that was the last injection he got, he was in remission from that moment on. I still test him every two weeks just to keep an eye on him, but he remains in the very normal numbers, and I do test my non-diabetics periodically was well, one to make sure they are still non-diabetics and two to give me a good base line on what are non-diabetic numbers.

To date the only time my vet has seen Maxwell in the fur is when we went in to the office to show them how I test him at home, otherwise every couple of months I email them his spreadsheet so they have a baseline for him should he ever come out of remission. AS far as how he reacted to being tested by me, well in the beginning he was squirmy, and I got a couple of growls but then again we had no history or long standing trust. I also learned that while he is a snuggly cat, he wants it on his terms, and hates to be restrainted. One we got that worked out, and I agreed not to hold him down, he comes willingly to be tested by my shaking of the test strip container and telling him "It's Ears Time". He is so good at it now that when I took him to my vet's to give a home testing demo, I allowed him to wander in the office, meet and greet the vets and the vet techs, then called him with our customary "It's Ears Time", he quit playing with one of the tech, leapt up on the table and assumed the position to be tested. And purred through the whole thing. For him it wasn't about the food treats, it was the brush. This boy will crawl over broken glass to be brushed, so when we finish our testing he gets brushed and brushed and brushed. We have an incredible bond now, he loves me to death, if I don't come to bed immediately when my husband does, Maxwell will pace and cry until I do, once I go to bed he snuggle up with me, normally sleeping on my head.

As far as fitting the testing into a busy schedule with work etc. Well right now I'm not working, but I'm a full time Vet Tech student, and about to adopt yet another FD cat (she arrives this Saturday). The game plan with her is to test 3 times a day, before each shot am & pm and then her nadir at +6, if this means taking a break from studying to do it, or setting the alarm to get up test and go back to bed then that is what will be done. Curves will wait until the weekends when I can get in those every two hour tests, and I look at it as a good excuse to take a break from hitting the books.

Personally I would have felt much better had my vet taught me to test before teaching me to shoot insulin. The shots especially blind, was far more scary for me than being asked to prick my cat's ear. The rest of my cats think they hit pay dirt when I adopted Maxwell because they now all get the same diet, low carb canned food. And I will tell you my non-diabetics are reaping the rewards, I have owned cats most of my adult life, and I have never had cats that look as good as these do. They are sleek, shiny, soft and muscular. My overweight guy lost weight effortlessly, and is now slim and trim. My guy that was scratching himself raw, is no longer on pred for allergies. And my vet bills are nearly nonexistant except for routine care...physicals, spays, neuters and shots. My vet now calls me when he has a new diabetic to help teach them how to test at home. And since my vet and I have partnered up, 3 of his long term diabetics have joined my Maxwell in remission. And my vet now jokes with me that Maxwell is a poster child for how much a diabetic cat can turn around. In fact he has pictures of Maxwell up at his clinic from the day I adopted him at 10.5 lbs and a walking skeleton and today at 15.8 lbs looking like he is ready to take best in show. The pictures have a simple caption, it merely says Diabetes in not a death sentence.

Mel, Maxwell and The Fur Gang

 

Hello again.

I had a thought about vet care. Since it is SO cheap & easy to test for elevated BG levels, why isn't it tested for as a new patient standard test? In an annual check up? I don't mean a full blown blood test, just the ear poke for BG levels. Since it IS so cheap and easy to do a vet wouldn't even have to charge extra for it, it could be included in the office visit charges. If the BG is elevated, then do a full blown blood test. More kitties would be diagnosed early enough that just a food change could avoid ever getting full blown diabetes and having to give insulin. I'm I insane or does this just make good sense?

 

Hi - and welcome!

I'm just going to answer your questions on home testing.

I decided to test on my own even before my cat was diagnosed. I suspected diabetes, found FDMB, and as soon at the dx was confirmed went out and bought a meter. My vet thought I was a control-freak crackpot because of the testing and because of my insistence on low-carb canned food (instead of the prescription stuff). We soon parted ways.

It was not easy to get blood at first. My kitty was a wee bit, uh, cranky (!) at the best of times. But we worked it out because it was important to me.

I work full time and pretty much restricted testing to pre-shot for most of her diabetes life. There were times where I tested more, but not all the time. Sadly, we never got very good control. I only switched to Lantus a few weeks before Isabella died from VAS. Wish I had switched sooner - so I'm glad you start your patients on Latus from the get-go.

Anyway, welcome!

Nancy

 

We were diagnosed years ago. Hometesting was common on this site but not so much elsewhere.

I was given humulin L and canned Purina DM and told to inject 2 units twice a day. We used fructosamine tests to monitor his progress. The people here at the time told me that we needed to hometest and I couldn't imagine it. My vet had just been to a seminar I think held by Dr Greco, who advocated fructosamines over serial curves. I got so upset by advice here that I left in a huff...but then Squeak got sick again because we took him off of insulin too soon (based on fructosamine results).

My Squeak would fight me if I had to clean mud off of his toes or tried to brush his teeth so I was freaked about this but determined. My vet thought I was crazy, said I was doing it for me and not Squeak. But I was so surprised to find that he didn't mind it much at all, and soon would purr through the testing. He was only on insulin for a month or two more before off it altogether, and he's been off ever since March 2003. When testing, we would test preshot and do spot checks or curves. As he was quickly a SID cat (once a day), testing was not onerous at all.

Every so often I pull out my kit (had to buy a new meter as they stopped selling strips for my old one) and test him and he's consistently the same

My vet now teaches people to test IF she thinks that they are up for it, she doesn't push it.

 

[quoteHello!
Did you decide to home test on your own, or did your vet recommend it?
How hard was it for you to learn how to get the blood sample?
How did your cat tolerate your new bizarre behavior?
How do you manage multiple daily home testing with working a full time job?

I've never actually owned a cat with diabetes. One of my cats is very sensitive. If he even thinks I'm going to do something to him he just disappears into the basement. I don't know how I would manage to test and inject him regularly.

I did have one patient who home monitored. This cat would go ballistic every time he came is. It was stressful for all concerned and impossible to get accurate readings due to stress hyperglycemia. He was managed very well at home until he died of something unrelated.[/quote]

Hello and welcome! My cat was diagnosed in Feb and we started home testing in March. When my cat was diagnosed, my vet had printed off a lot of information for me for reference and one of those was some stickies from this site. She had been to this site and felt that it was a good resource. We had always fed dry scient

1) Did you decide to home test on your own, or did your vet recommend it? My vet wanted to do curves at the office for the first month, which we did. However, Tarragon is a very skittish kitty and hates to be out of the house. So, after the first two curves, I requested to learn how to home test. I did not think that the numbers at the office were valid anyway since he was so stressed. My vet was happy that I wanted to be involved enough to home test.

2) How hard was it for you to learn how to get the blood sample? It took me a couple of days of really trying to start to get blood. Like I said, my cat is very skittish so I had to establish a testing spot and be confident in my testing. That was my biggest problem. If you go at it like you are hesitant, the cat knows that and will freak out. If you make it a soothing time between you and the cat and are confident in your motions, the cat realizes that it is not that big of a deal and will tolerate it. Many have found that a small confined space works best so the cat does not have an escape route, which I also did at first. I can now go test Tarragon when he is laying about anywhere and he purrs and doesn't miss a beat. One thing that really helps is the neosporin with numbing. It lessens the pain and lets the blood bead up better.

3) How did your cat tolerate your new bizarre behavior? We had to have some bonding time that he wasn't used to. He also got sick of me following him around. If you have not had a chance to read "A message from your cat," the link is below.
viewtopic.php?f=28&t=33671
I still have to read this every now and then when Tarragon gives me the "would you just leave me alone" look.

4) How do you manage multiple daily home testing with working a full time job? I do my regular AMPS and PMPS testing every day and do +2 and +4 at night before I go to bed. I do full curves each weekend - either Sat or Sun. If he is acting bonky, I have done PJ party at night during the week and set my alarm for every 2 hours.

When Tarragon was diagnosed, we both thought that we would never be able to do it and we considered the unthinkable because he was so sick. He went from 13 pounds to 8 pounds in 3 months. However, I got on this site and started talking to people and realized that it is very doable and that there is this large group out there that will help you every step of the way. That has been what saved me and Tarragon. He is now back to the crazy kitten he was before he got sick and we have gotten very close. I have learned things about him that I never would have known if it weren't for FD.

 

I decided to do it. I'm an epidemiologist and had done some reading about human diabetes. You would never shoot a child without testing, so why on earth would you do that with an animal?

Despite the body's tendancy to maintain homeostasis, things do change
- hairballs happen - this can put a cat off eating, dropping glucose, or the cat may binge to provoke purging and eliminate it
- food - sometimes batch differences will alter glucose levels (a problem with how manufacturers are allowed to label their products), or I test out a different brand or brand item
- visitors, etc
and such changes may alter blood glucose levels.

With a household currently numbering 11, and having had cats with renal disease requiring subcutaneous fluids, not too bad. I've also done subcutaneous antibiotic injections, for a cat that was extremely difficult to dose orally.

I lucked out - my most calm cat is the one that came down with diabetes. He loves dry food, so his treat for coming into the bathroom to get poked is 3-5 pellets of kibble (and thats when I give him his insulin, too, so he doesn't notice it).

As a side note: after switching the household to all canned low carbohydrate food, 2 of my overweight/obese senior cats each lost some of the excess weight. The eldest cat lost a bit too much and I now feed her some kibble or higher carb canned food daily.

I always pre-test to make sure giving the shot is safe.
From time to time, usually when I've observed something unusual behavior-wise, I'll go home mid-day to test (like today - Spitzer isn't doing quite right).
I'll do some extra evening tests if things seem odd, or when testing a new food (usually a low carb turkey or chicken blend), or when food consumption varies.
I'll run a curve on weekends every several weeks or so.

Side note for those having others assist them in measuring and giving insulin or in training a new owner: be sure to show them how to read the syringe!!! That was how a friend overdosed my cat with 10 units of Lantus, instead of giving just 1 unit. (Spitzer survived with a 24 hour emergency vet visit.) Mark the syringe with tape, draw a line on a comparison syringe, use colored dye, whatever, just make sure the other person knows how to read it properly.

 

Wow, I am overwhelmed by the response and some of your stories actually had me in tears. I am greatly encouraged by your stories of success with home testing. I will make it a point to refer all my kitty diabetics to this site.

The guy who founded my practice was a former large animal vet, and when I started there he felt that diabetes was too complicated, too expensive to treat. (He was really a great guy otherwise). I started treating them and he was converted, but of course passed all those cases to me.

One year we had a call from Pakistan! A client of ours was stationed over there and due to come home in 3 months, but her little dog was just diagnosed with diabetes and the vet over there recommended euthanasia. She shipped the dog to me (it arrived in bad shape) and we stabilized her and boarded her for 3 months until her owner got home.

I'm still trying to get the spreadsheet in usable form. I've got another thread going with someone trying to help me. Apparently Google is acting weird.

I'm going to spend some time with the lantus protocol over the next few days. I've got a couple weeks before I go back to work. I want to go back ready to pounce on the next sugar kitty to walk in the door!

Thank you all so much for taking the time to tell me your stories. I read every word.

 

If you figure out how to access the spreadsheet, please share. I keep getting error messages and I'm really wanting to start one.

Oh, and I really wish you were a vet in my hometown!!

Welcome... from a fellow Newby to the site.

xo
Carla (and Boo... diagnosed May 23, 2011)

 

I've just copied and pasted my original profile from the old FDMB. Update is below.

Davisburg, MI Member of FDMB since '98

Patches(GA) diabetic 4 yrs., Lilly's Iletin insulin, then to Humulin U. (GA) in '95 at 16 yrs. due to renal failure.

Baby(GA) diabetic 5 1/2 years, Humulin U, (GA) in '02 at 18 1/2+ yrs. due to heart failure.

Hope (Squishy Kitty), adopted from shelter in CA in 9/02, now 7yrs. old, diabetic 4yrs in March '06. Now on just .40 units b.i.d. PZI IDEXX. Apparently turned back in to shelter at the age of 3 because of diabetes. Absolute love!!!!

Mishka (Meeeska), adopted in 10/03, now 7 yrs. old, diabetic apparently for several months, lost 10 1/2lbs., had not been put on insulin, was to be PTS. Less than 14hrs. after bringing her home was at ER with DKA. Fought and won two battles with DKA and several with just high ketones. Doing great now, has gained almost 3 lbs. back and is currently on 3 units b.i.d. of Humulin U. Constant food, insulin, consistency and all is balancing out well. Came with a lot of emotional baggage, this is her 4th home, but with the help of two animal communicators we have gone from a vicious cat to one I can now hug, sling over my shoulder and give kisses to. I bless Dr. S. Mensack, the Critical Care vet at ER, for saving her medically all those times and I bless the animal communicators who helped me understand her and work with her. We have come full circle!

Mishka has had a few more battles with DKA, last one in Oct, and then was hit with acute pancreatitis. Was in ER for 9 days. Is now on 3 units of U b.i.d. Ketones can show at the drop of a hat. She also runs excellent numbers and is always low 200's or even under and still get ketones. She had another run early in Dec. and went from moderate to trace to small to moderate to large. I kept her at home, no fluids, just food and insulin and if she had given me another large reading she would have gone to ER. The whole four days of this she was perky, playful, no vomit, stools normal, ate like a pig and if I hadn't caught a urine sample I would never have known she had ketones. Numbers were excellent as usual with her.

7/7/06

Mishka is now on PZI IDEXX. Switched earlier than planned from U to PZI and she has been on it now for one month. No problems with the change.

1/12/07

Mishka spent over a week at ER fighting ketones. She did well after a tooth extraction but 2 1/2 days later when I was to start her on Amoxi as a precaution, she started vomiting and went downhill from there. Ketones reared their ugly head, she stopped eating and off to ER we went. She came home 4 days later, still not herself, next day back to ER with major ketones. This time major UTI was found from the urine culture. She is now on antibiotics for a month and almost back to her normal self.

Hope has just been dx'd with restrictive cardiomyopathy. Still repeating abdominal ultrasounds every 7 weeks and looking for changes in that area also. She defecated 3 times outside the box and that is not Hope. She also went off needing insulin so I knew something was going on. Whether it is the start of IBD or a lymphoma we are not sure of yet. All thyroid tests are normal but her heart was giving some weird extra beats so we went to cardiologist. EKG and echocardiogram confirmed the dx. She is on Sotalol and next EKG is on the 18th.

Two things I would like to mention. With Mishka, she has FORL and because of that she needs a cleaning every 6 months. I use a Board Certified Dental Spec. of which there are only 2 in MI. He does radiographs, etc. and 6 months ago that tooth of Mishka's was fine. This time that tooth had to come out, I saw the colored picture of it and thankful I didn't wait a year. From good to bad in 6 months!

I truly believe that a cat that has been diabetic for at least 1 1/2 years or longer, needing insulin every day, suddenly needs less and less insulin to the point where you skip some days, has something else going on. IMHO, if your diabetic cat of several years doesn't need insulin now, get thee to a vet. Have blood panel run, full thyroid tests, and abdominal and heart scans done. Something is eating up the glucose. Hopefully you will get an answer even though you may not want to hear what it is.

Newly dx cats with a diet change and maybe some insulin can go into remission and usually within the first six months, max a year. I am talking about cats like my Hope, diabetic 5 years this coming March, now doesn't need insulin. That is not going into remission. That is another problem starting within her body.

10/4/07 update........

Oct. 6th will be the 4th anniversary for the day I adopted Mishka and brought her home. She just had a dental and complete physical with ultrasound and all is fine. No extractions, no cavities, blood work fine.....Mishka is great. Mishka is on 1.60 U-40 IDEXX b.i.d.

Hope celebrated her 5 years with me on 9/14 when she arrived from CA. She only needs insulin once in a while and the dose is only .20 of the U-40 IDEXX. Her last abdominal ultrasound showed less thickening in the area so we are still holding off.....no conclusive way other than an exploratory to determine what, if anything, is going on inside. She is on Denosyl, Marin, and Actigall s.i.d. She gets a B-12 shot once a week. Her EKG and echo also checked out well and for her Restrictive Cardiomyopathy she gets Sotalol b.i.d. and Enalapril s.i.d. Hopie goes in every six weeks to both specialists for the works. They don't require it, I do for my peace of mind.

6/9/09 update.......

Hope is doing great....still off insulin and it has been almost 2 1/2 years since being dx'd with RCM. We caught the heart problem early and her heart, though it will never improve, has not deteriorated at all since '07. She gets an ECG and Echo every 8 weeks now. Her abdominal ultra sounds also show improvement and her ALT and AST values are back to normal. IBD and/or cancer, which we thought she might have had, are no longer even mentioned. She's doing beautifully.

Mishka is Mishka Six years coming up in OCT. and is doing beautifully also. She is still on IDEXX PZI which I have covered through 9/2010 and then we'll have to switch.

Update: 6/23/11

Hope....doing great with her RCM 4/12 years later and now asthma and still off insulin. She gets constant checkups with IM and Cardiologist.

Mishka.....doing great also but still needing insulin.....coming up to 8 years this Oct.

Vinnie.....newest adopted kitty from RI. I've had him a year. Vet at pound in RI found out he was diabetic, made sure they fed only canned food and started him on Glip. Another member from here went and picked him up early before the transport to MI. By that time he only needed 1 or 2 shots of Lantus and he went into remission and a year later is still in remission. He was just diagnosed with uveitis but got it early and so far eye is doing well. He came with 2 others diabetic cats on a transport to get to new owners......we called them the Three Tenors. Glip is not the best but I feel that by the vet at least starting him on it possibly saved his pancreas to where a few shots of Lantus put him into remission.

FWIW, the vets I deal with all like and use Lantus and IMHO a newly dx'd kitty with a switch to canned food, hometesting and Lantus stands a good chance of remission.

 

When my first cat became diabetic, it was my vet's office that taught me how to monitor his glucose levels at home. They even gave me a meter to use. My vet was very proactive about encouraging pet owners to learn how to provide routine care for their cats at home. This included hometesting, running my own curves and even administering sub-q fluids.

However, a few years later when another of my cats became diabetic, a different vet in the same practice kept trying to discourage me from testing so frequently. Of course I did not listen. :mrgreen: Because I refused to limit my hometesting, I was able to spot trends that seemed to occur with both of my diabetic cats (one of which I adopted knowing she was a sugar kitty) that happened at least once a week, their BG levels would drop significantly below 100. Even though I could provide computer printouts of their readings that were downloaded directly from their meters, she still tried to discourage me from hometesting as frequently. It was not until I had to board both of them for a couple weeks and left very explicit instructions that they were not to get insulin unless tested before every shot using the meters I provided them, that she finally realized that I knew what I was talking about when it came to my cats' diabetes. Even though we disagreed about hometesting, I was pleased with the care she gave my cats; however, in some ways I was glad when she left the practice since all of the other vets that work there do support hometesting. They also have a clinic once a month for owners of diabetic cats and that is one of the things they cover.

I test twice a day, just before my cats are fed. Occasionally I have to work late so I have to adjust the shooting schedule. I do not give insulin less than 10 hour from the previous shot and always test first to make sure it is safe. For newbies, we usually recommend not giving insulin unless the BG level is 200 or higher. But there are several of us that have been caring for diabetic cats for a long time that will use a lower don't shoot number. However, we also test before every shot and know how our cat responds to the dose. But one thing we do point out is ECID, every cat is different, so what may work for us may not be the best thing for someone else's cat.

I have only had one cat that had an issue with hometesting. However, that was due to her being one of my adopted cats and she was still learning to trust me. After she realized that I was not going to hurt her, I did not have any problems. One recommendation that helps is to always reward the cat with a low carb treat every time you test, even if it is not a successful one. Soon the cat will learn to associate that testing means getting treats and will become more cooperative. Some even remind their owners when it is time to test because they want their treats. :lol: Now all I have to do is pull out the meter and my diabetic cat jumps up on the table and waits to be tested.

One thing that vets could also do is to encourage more people to adopt diabetic cat. I have had a total of four diabetic cats, two of which I adopted after they were diagnosed. Taking care of a diabetic cat is no more difficult than caring for a non-diabetic one, just a couple more things to do in your daily routine. If this could happen as well as giving them information about sites like FDMB, many of the diabetic cats in shelters could find homes and not end up being put to sleep.

 

The vet recommended it, but not after she did several in-office curves which didn't show anything but high bgs and resulted in a very fractious cat that the vet staff did not want to deal with :roll:

Not hard at all but gettig my cat to hold still was another thing :roll: It took a few weeks before he would finally hold still while I poked.

He didn't like it at first but soon I was able to test him even while he was sleeping. He didn't mind the insulin injections at all.

I did random spot checks at night and on weekends.

 

My vet did not recommend home testing, but she is a cat specialist, uses a human glucometer in her practice and uses a Start Low and Go Slow approach to dosing. When Norton was first diagnosed in 2006, she only prescribed Humulin N. We went in every Saturday for a blood sugar check. We shot blind for over a year --- finally I got on the internet and found FDMB. I learned here about home testing, low carb canned food and .... acromegaly. Norton had been up to 13u BID and when i first posted here, got a very alarmed response in the Health forum and a less alarmed response in the High Dose forum (now called Acromegaly / Cushings / IAA). Norton fit the physical profile for acromegaly and the IGF-1 test result was positive (when I finally demanded that my vet take the blood and send it to the MSU lab -- she didn't think he fit the profile).

Diet change reduced his dose to 8u BID. We changed from N to PZI and went to TID dosing using a custom sliding scale. (test BG and dose based on current blood sugar level --- this is NOT recommended for Lantus or Levemir).

Norton was easy to test once we figured out where to poke - he was a sweetheart. His blood sugar went lower and lower -- and we discovered that he had cancer. Lost him in 2008.

I kept in touch with this forum, and we adopted Tiggy in Feb 2009 before DCIN was formed. Venita helped with travel arrangements to get Tiggy from Kentucky to Michigan. Tiggy had been diabetic for 5 years and his mom had to leave the US (her work visa expired). She was afraid he would not survive quarantine to take him home, so left him with her vet to find a new home. At the vet clinic, he was getting 5u PZI SID and eating Science Diet Hairball formula.

We changed his food to low carb canned food and started over at 1u BID. We switched him to Levemir when his first bottle of PZI ran out. Tiggy is now very well regulated on a dose of 0.5u BID and low carb diet. He will probably never go into remission, but he is a very good natured cat -- he comes to remind us when it is test time. We give loving at test times - not treats. (based on what we learned here, we bought Levemir in 2009 without my vet's knowledge -- in 2009, it was legal to order insulin from Canada with no prescription.) We documented the transition to Levemir and at our next vet visit - discussed it and requested a fructosamine test to validate Tiggy's blood sugar results. My vet wrote a prescription for Levemir. (now required to order from Canada)

In the space of time between losing Norton and gaining Tiggy, a new client came to my vet with a cat already on Lantus. So... my vet did the research and agreed that Lantus was a fine insulin. While she did not want to add burden (hometesting), she did see the value in the results. I gave some meters to give out if a newly diagnosed cat owner was interested in home testing and offered to demonstrate.

We tried to adopt another diabetic cat last year -- Rusty -- who came from Massachusetts with Hope's Vinnie and Gayle's Oliver on the "Three Tenors" trip. He did not get along with my other 4 cats, and we reposted here and on DCIN that he needed an only cat home. Ella and Edward in NY had lost their sweet Stu in Sept, and adopted Rusty in November last year. So Rusty is living the life in upstate NY and Ella posts about him every day in Lantus Land forum.

My husband is very involved in caring for our cats -- since Tiggy has been diabetic for about 7 years now -- remission is pretty much out of the question. We test before every shot, and at random other times if he seems to be acting funny. Once every couple of months, we'll do a curve. He is occasionally too low to shoot -- our long-experience-based cutoff is no shot below 70, half dose (0.25u) below 90. Between the two of us, we don't have a problem with the 12 hour shots and testing -- but at this point, we mainly test just 2x per day unless he is in double digits.

 

My vet recommended home testing, and I was willing to try anything. I also had a background in wildlife rehab, so I wasn't totally at a loss with respect to medicating and treating. However, I had no experience with diabetes and had never administered an injection of any type.

Learning how to get the blood sample was easy - just a ten minute session with a vet tech. Learning how to do it easily (one poke per test) took about 3 weeks or so! It was a matter of building self-confidence and finding the right sized lancet.

Lucky for me, Bob has tolerated my behavior and his new routine very well. The thing that he's still not a big fan of is sub-q fluids. I am giving him 100 cc lactated ringers w/ added potasium in order to raise his potasium level. Every other day for probably another week. He gets irritated with being held in place for that long, and after 50cc's he's wondering what's taking so long. But he deals with the ear pricks, and the insulin (both sub-q and intermuscular versions of the shots). He gets a boiled shrimp as a reward, and shrimp (he believes) exists to make him happy.

Managing the testing and shots was just a matter of "okay, how do I make my life fit this new requirement?" Once I made the decision to go into the home test/treat routine, I just adjusted everything else around that. My work schedule is chaos anyway. I work different shifts every week, and have different days off every week, so there really isn't a "routine" for me. I just decided that come hell or high water, Bob was going to get tested, treated and fed roughly every twelve hours. What worked was around 6am and pm, so that's what I do no matter what. I am fortunate to work with a couple miles of home, so if nothing else, I stop by the house during work and take care of Bob. The only real pain, for me, is the 6am feeding. Many nights I work till 10 or midnight, and sometimes till 2am. So I just set the alarm for 6, get up, and if needed I go back to sleep afterwards. It's meant a lot of nights with not enough sleep, but I figure between me and Bob, he's getting the short end of this stick. I'm not the one with diabetes!

All good questions, and thank you for asking. Hope you can use the answers you've gotten with some of your future or current patients and owners.

Carl in SC

 

Thank you for taking an interest in our experiences and opinions.

Awhile back there was a thread started by an Abbott veterinarian entitled "What would you like your vet to know about you and your cat." You might find it an interesting read. The thread is located here: viewtopic.php?f=28&t=23631

I decided on my own to hometest. When Chip first became clinically symptomatic, I suspected diabetes or kidney problems; a quick trip to the vet confirmed diabetes and I immediately went home and Googled it and found this site. The info here convinced me that hometesting was the right, and sensible, thing to do. My vet just shrugged his shoulders.

It wasn't hard to learn to get a blood sample. The information on this site is thorough, and a few tips such as warming the ear, using vaseline to help the blood drop bead up, and "milking" the ear were key to my early success. I watched the linked video. But truthfully, I think a lot of our early success was also due to attitude. I've been through a lot with my crew and didn't find hometesting to be daunting. I'm sure that, to a certain degree, Chip fed off of my no-nonsense "let's do this" attitude.

As for tolerating this new, bizarre behavior ... the ongoing joke in the family is that Chip is an opinionated, somewhat grumpy old man who is set in his ways. "Tolerance" would definitely NOT be his middle name. However, much to my surprise, he didn't seem to mind the ear pricks. I'd read that ears are very vascular but don't have a lot of nerve endings, and Chip seemed to confirm that point. To this day, he fights me about brushing and taking oral meds and just about everything else. Hometesting? He could care less.

Charlie was my second diabetic -- he was steroid induced and, being a laid-back, trusting, do-anything-to-me-that-you-want type of guy, was even easier. And that was fortunate, because he had an unusually strong response to Lantus and I NEEDED to test frequently in order to keep him safe.

When my dog was diagnosed with an insulinoma, I was thankful that I already had the needed expertise and equipment and was prepared for what lie ahead.

However, I think it's fair to say that we on this site are probably the exceptions, not the norm. It is a valid concern that many clients might be scared away by the prospect of giving insulin injections, let alone hometesting. So even though home testing might be part of the "gold" standard in treatment, I think it's fair to say that you might need to wean some people onto the idea, and will probably need to walk a fine line regarding how hard to push the idea, and when. Not an easy reality. But also not a good reason to throw one's hands in the air and give up. So thanks again for your efforts to learn more and to promote the best care possible.

 

When Gabby was diagnosed, she was a rather sick kitty -- diabetes, hepatic lipidosis, and DKA. My vet and the ICU vet cautioned me that many cats do not survive DKA. Gabby is, however, a fighter. I was calling the ICU every 6 hrs for updates on her labs. Within 12 hours her electrolytes were stabilizing.

The ICU vet had started her on Humulin N. Interestingly, no one at the hospital bothered to ask if I knew how to give an injection -- they assumed I knew. I brought my newly diagnosed cat home with a several medications and a script for insulin and syringes. I was so rattled that it wasn't until I got home that I realized I hadn't a clue about how to give an injection. Thank goodness for YouTube.

I intermittently began to do some research. I had come across the Queensland version of the Tight Regulation protocol in a vet journal and thought it made sense. My regular vet wanted to run a fructosamine level and when it was clear that N wasn't effective, i suggested Lantus which happened to be my vet's preferred insulin. I then began to read in earnest and found this site. After lurking on this forum, someone commented that if you had a diabetic child, there would be no way you would give an insulin shot without testing first. I closed the computer and walked across the street and bought a meter and all of the accoutrements. At shot time, I picked Gabby up, put her on a counter where I had good lighting, and based on what I read here and watched on YouTube (again), I poked Gabby in the ear. I got blood on the first poke.

What I can say is that I'm not uncomfortable with needles or injections. I knew that if I was confident and communicated that confidence to Gabby, we'd be fine. I also knew to reward her no matter how the poke or the shot worked out. She's food motivated so either food or a treat was effective. It's a good thing that they are effective since Gabby is a cat who is prone to drama. By testing I learned she can have early, fast drops in her numbers. As a result, I aggressively test early in the cycle. My vet thinks I test too much but I also suspect she hasn't really studied our spreadsheet.

My vet neither encouraged nor discouraged home testing. (This may have changed since Mococo uses the same vet practice as I do and her cat was recenty diagnosed.) I initiated the testing. When we talked about home testing, she said that when she'd brought it up with people, many were reticent because they feared hurting their cat or were comfortable bringing their cat to the vet for curves or fructosamine tests so she stopped asking. I also brought the Lantus Tight Regulation Protocol to my vet and told her that this is what I wanted to do. She didn't object and knows that I can read the research. She pretty much has left me to manage Gabby's dosing. She has the link to our spreadsheet and can follow up at any time.

I have a certain degree of flexibility with my work schedule. I've adjusted the times I shoot so I can get early tests in before I leave the house and intervene to raise Gabby's numbers, if necessary. The one thing that can be challenging is sticking to the 12/12 shot schedule that is integral for tight regulation. You need to have friends who understand that it's important to shoot at a particular time and be forgiving enough if you need to cancel plans if your cat is running in low numbers. Not everyone understands making a commitment to a companion. For many of the people here, our lives are rearranged around our FD cat. What you have probably intuited is that there is a very special bond that forms. I don't know if it's because we become "blood brothers" (because I know I've poked myself with that lancet once or twice) or because our cats recognize that what we are doing ultimately allows them to feel better.

Please stop by the Lantus ISG if you have questions specific to Lantus. I suspect you'll receive an equally warm reception.

 

Welcome! You'll find a ton of useful information on this board.

My situation with my sugar cat Jason was a little different than most people with newly diagnosed diabetic cats. I work part-time as a vet assistant in an animal shelter. Jason was brought into the shelter in October 2010 as a severely emaciated (he weighed 6.2 lbs) elderly stray. He quickly gained weight, but also came down with an URI, like many cats in a shelter environment. The URI was treated with antibiotics but kept coming back. Jason was going to be put up for adoption, but some staff members had noted PD/PU with Jason recently. Our vets tested him and discovered he was diabetic. As Jason was a huge staff favorite, we were going to attempt to treat him, although we had never treated a diabetic in the shelter before given the difficulties involved (cost of insulin, insufficient staff/volunteers to monitor for possible hypo, inability to give the shots the proper amount of time apart, etc.). Before we started treatment, our vets wanted to make sure that Jason's kidneys were functioning well and did bloodwork on him. The bloodwork showed that his kidneys looked great, but also showed anemia (HCT 24, unknown cause) and a systemic bacterial infection (elevated neutrophils with 1+ dohle bodies and 2+ toxic neutrophils). Because of the poor prognosis, our vets recommended that Jason be euthanized. I ended up taking Jason home for a few days, to give him some time in an actual home before the euthanasia, and ended up deciding to foster him until his body said it was time (at the time, Jason didn't act like he knew he was sick, despite quite a bit of URI symptoms). Even though I didn't expect him to get better, I wanted to treat his infection and diabetes while he was in my care. One of our shelter vets was very supportive of that, and she did a bunch of research on diabetes to figure out how to start treating it (since she was a shelter vet, she had no experience with it). Based on her research, we started Jason on Lantus, although we probably started him too high (2 units BID). She was also very much in favor of changing his diet to low carb, but wanted to wait until after we'd found a good dose of insulin for him. I won't go into a lot of detail, but Jason spent a month on both Lantus and antibiotics (Clavamox, based on a C&S), and then went into remission. His remission coincided with the end of a transition to a strict wet food low carb diet and the end of his antibiotics, so I believe that the short course of insulin, coupled with a diet change and clearing his infection, was just the kick he needed to become a diet-controlled diabetic.

The day we decided to start Jason on insulin I started researching what I could about diabetes. I found my way to this board and began devouring information. I brought up the idea of home testing with the shelter vet I was working with, but she was very supportive of the idea. I would often call her to discuss his test results.

It took me a few days to get the hang of getting a blood sample. Mostly it was trial and error to figure out what worked best for me and Jason. I had watched several videos about it and had read all the tips. At first I was trying to free-hand nick the ear with a with a syringe, which didn't work very well. I was also using an old meter that the shelter happened to have that was very temperamental and needed quite a large sample of blood. I had quite a few errors with it, and it was quite frustrating. After a day or two of trying to deal with the old meter, I popped on this board to see what meters people here were using and got a ReLion Confirm, which 'sipped' the blood sample and needed a much smaller sample to boot. I also began using the lancet pen that came with the meter, and with some trial and error (which depth setting to use, clear end cover or black cover, etc.) I had a setting that worked well for me within a day or two. As I'd read on the board, I also found that the more I tested, the more Jason's ears 'learned' to bleed (and one ear -the right - always bled better than the other).

Very well. Jason is a fairly tolerant cat. While we were both learning the testing ropes, I would give him lots of praise/love and a small treat after each attempt, failed or successful. He never fought me on it, and within a week we had a routine down and he would come running when I pulled out my testing supplies and said "let's test". Even though he's been off insulin since November 2010, I still routinely test Jason (usually every couple of weeks), and he comes right to our spot when I tell him to. As you can see from my spreadsheet, I was something of an overzealous tester while Jason was on insulin. I figured that the more information I had, the better.

At times it was challenging, especially since I have two jobs and work 7 days a week. I was fortunate, however, that I work close to home and could always run home if I needed to. During the weekdays, I would test Jason before each shot, and try to test at least once between shots if I could. I was able at times to work out of the house for part or all of the day, which helped a lot. When I couldn't do that, I had a family member check on Jason periodically to make sure he was acting normally, since they didn't know how to check his blood sugar. On the weekends, when I work at the animal shelter, I just brought Jason with me and gave him his shot at the shelter. I would also usually run a full curve every weekend. I was very fortunate that I ended up being sick and working from home for a solid week when Jason decided he didn't want to be on insulin anymore, as he almost went hypo on me 3 times. If I hadn't been hometesting, I would have had no idea his blood sugar had dropped so low (the first day he dropped to low 50s at his nadir, the next day into the 40s a little before his nadir, the third day and his last day of insulin he had dropped into the 40s only 2 hours after his morning shot).

 

I'll give you a response from a newbie. We are 4 weeks post-diagnosis and found this site shortly after diagnosis. After finding this site and perusing the stickies (and some concurring sites), we immediately switched to low-carb wet food, and requested a newbie kit to start home monitoring. With a LOT of encouragement from the community here, we committed to home monitoring and learned to do the ear prick. It took a lot of practice; we're still getting used to things.

We switched vets when we found the diagnosing vet untrusting of home test results (we'd only seen him the one time, anyway) and unwilling to provide a prescription for insulin/syringes with bg levels around 200.

Honestly, the insulin shot sounded more intimidating at first than pricking an ear for a tiny bit of blood. The time commitment is a non-issue so far -- there is always someone home with the kids, though we do more daytime monitoring/curves on the weekends when there is someone to distract the kids. ;-)

For me, the community here has been the driving factor in our view of feline diabetes and our willingness to travel the steep learning curve.

 

Dr, I am so glad you found this site! While my vet (who has a diabetic cat & dog at home) has been very supportive, it sounds like that might not always be the case out there. Kudos to you for showing effort to research something more while you are recoverying from surgery! Don't forget to take it easy!

I am 43 and work 7 days a week. I am lucky to have just purchased a home for the first time that is 3 miles away from my office. I work in a small office (about 6 of us) and Sandy has no problem allowing me to bring Cedric to work. Since Christmas, he has spent 2 1/2 days and 2 full days here. He was diagnosed on 4/22/11 after I had taken him in the day before for his annual check up. I told my vet that I had noticed Cedric drinking more water (and expelling it in the litter box, unlike my last cat, Midora). He rans some tests and told me that he thought it was FD (confirmed the next day when the test results came back). I found Dr. Rebecca's site right away and read all the info I could about FD and how to treat/handle it. Cedric & I went back to the vet on 4/22 to get the Lantus script and for a demonstration of how-tos.

Hometesting: Dr. Josh spoke to me about it, and having found the FDMB, I noted that a lot of people were home testing (and I took note of the meters being used) I told him it was something I could do. A good thing, since I just bought a new house the month before (we moved in on 4/14) and Kindred Spirits Animal Clinic is about 20 miles away. Yes, there are closer vets, but I really like his practice. He seemed really glad that I was ok with the hometesting. I bought the meter the following Sunday (2 days later, Easter Sunday), but had to go back on Tuesday for the test strips, as Wal-Mart's pharmacies were closed for the holiday and that is where they keep the strips. As you can see from our spreadsheet below, I started on him right away.

Blood samples: I still have problems. Cedric's right ear (meaning, right if you are looking at him from the front) just doesn't want to give it. I heat his ear with a heating pad that came in this orange cat "thing" that my step-mom bought him a couple of christmas's ago. It's supposed to heat up the little orange cat so that your cat can snuggle with it in the winter. Cedric doesn't do that lol. He doesn't like this heating pad, so getting blood from him can be difficult. he sits still - I put the treat can in front of him to entice, and I have learned to do it near the tile floor (I need to kneel on the carpet, bad knees) in case he flicks his ear. For the most part, he doesn't flick his ear as long as I have his head in a gentle frip. I keep everything well within reach so I don't have to let go.

Bizarre behavior: this made me laugh! Cedric himself is bizarre. He does what I call "dog" things. he loves water and has to get into the tub (now shower, since they are seperate in the new place) and try to catch the water droplets. He usually gets a professional bath once per year (he's got some white that gets dirty on occasion). He's yappy (meaning he meows alot, like a dog might bark alot) and he's a licker. OMG is he a licker. He had a tendancy to chew, not so much anymore, but he doe have a chew toy that is like a luffa. I have caught him chewing on the coffee table on occasion. yes, I said the coffee table. So me pricking him or giving him an injection didn't faze him. :smile:

Multiple daily hometesting & my F/T job: As I metnioned, Cedric has come to work with me. For his first curve, I took a day off. For his 2nd curve, I did 1/2 at the office then took him home to finish. I did another curve a couple of days after his last insulin shot, and he spent the whole day at work with me. that is probably unusual. If I could not bring him in, I would have had to take a day off from one of my jobs (I work part time at Walt disney World on the weekends).

others here have mentioned that some of their pets wait to be hometested - probably because they know they are going to get a treat! If the cat of your that you mentioned ever got FD, this theory (you get a treat if you just let me do this) might work. Cedric doesn't get treats anymore (I stopped last year, he was 18 lbs, is now 17 lbs) unless I am testing. I give him a grain free high protein treat from Evo and a cat treat I got from Drs Foster & Smith that is some kind of chicken jerkey. he really likes those.

One more thing I wanted to say (so, I take after my dad and we are both long winded). My vet demonstrated the "shoot the insulin in the scruff of the neck" version, which is different than what I learned here. I gave Cedric his insulin as demonstrated on this site. Maybe that was one of the factors that help get him into remission. this was the goal of Dr. Josh and his staff, but they are all surprised that it happened so fast. Dr. Josh is very canned-food oriented, and Cedric has been switched over to 100% canned food (grain free, high protein, low carb). I was feeding him about 1/2 cup a day of Wilderness dry (which is grain free, etc), but when I took it away, his BG numbers dropped about 100 points. 2 days later, his numbers were normal.

Thanks again for coming here!
Jesse

 

Welcome to this great site, Doctor. I applaud you for doing this research.

I foster diabetic cats since I am a diabetic human (Type I for over 30 years). So, no one had to tell me not to shoot blind when one of the fosters I was caring for was diagnosed diabetic.

From this site, I learned about low carb food and switched all of my cats to wet food. I learned the protocol for Lantus and that it doesn't last as long in cats as it did for me.

Cats like routine. Testing becomes a routine. So does giving shots. If I feed everyone and then take a break for dinner and have an extra cup of coffee, they will all mill around looking for the insulin shot. They really are creatures of habit. And they have an innate sense of time

Most vets tell me I test too much. I just smile! If we were talking children, they would know there is no such thing as testing too much.

Several of my fosters are in remission with other members of this board - Vinnie with Hope and Maxwell with Mel. Rusty is interesting. He hovers around .5u of insulin. Could he go off? My guess is probably not, but they are testing and will know. For 18 months I tried;his new people are watching him carefully.

Many vet are currently trying to move feline diabetics to ProZinc from Lantus. I think based on the remission rate with Lantus, that this is a mistake. Personal opinion, I know.

Please keep your open mind and ask us questions. As you can see, we are all passionate about caring for our sugarkitties.

Now you get better so you can take care of animals soon!

Claudia

 

Welcome to FDMB! It is wonderful to see another vet here and be willing to continue to learn about FD, even from us non professionals. Where I take Tess now my vets look at me and ask "What do you want to do?" and even admits I have done more research on this than they have time to do.

Tess was dx at the time of here regular dental. We had noticed increased water consumption and peeing. The blood test showed FD. The vet was surprised when we said we wanted to treat! He gave us a handout, but mentioned nothing about home testing or the importance of proper diet. My GA cat had CRF and I only found all the info on the web too near the end, but the experience of squids made me less frightened of the shots and I knew now to do my own research. This was on a Thursday night. By late Friday afternoon I had found this site, learned all about what to do and not to do.

What I found out on Friday was an FDA warning on the insulin he sold me and a video of the company news conference telling vets to switch their patients off of it. Unfortunately it was to late to get back to my vet and he had no Saturday hours. Saturday I got a meter and started to learn to test. By Monday the first vet was no longer caring for Tess and I was getting regular tests in. By our appointment on Wed. with her new vet, this site and Dr. Lisa's had supplied us with enough information to impress them.

Tess is a squirmer but even with that, the info here and links to videos made it much less of a problem than I thought it would be. I can understand the desire not to overwhelm owners of newly dx cats, but as has been mentioned already, would you give insulin to a child w/out testing? Once you get through the first scare treating FD becomes a matter of routine for you and the cat. I think you will find many of us here test to what would be an overwhelming amount ( guilty) for newbies, but our goal is remission. Many owners will be happy to keep the FD under control and do not need such frequent testing. There are degrees to this as with everything, you can commit to a higher dose of insulin and the frequent tests needed to work towards remission or stay w/ a lesser dose which is safer for hypos and thus needing fewer tests. This requires a lifelong commitment to treating though.

One thing I wish was that the importance of low carb wet food when a cat is first dx. I wonder how often insulin would not even be needed if cats were transitioned to a good diet first. Or even, here's a mind blowing thought , stress to new cat owners FROM THE START the importance of a proper diet and possible consequences of not doing so. This site has been a lifesaver not only for our current furkids, but has taught us all how tocare for future ones from the start.